WHICH TOWN CAN YOU APPLY IN?

It is important to note that is it almost always better to apply in a smaller town, not a city like Rome, Florence, Naples, etc. This is because larger cities are typically bogged down and do not make time to process a Jure Sanguinis application quickly. When using a service provider to assist you with your citizenship process, they will hand pick comuni they have worked with before and know they are capable of processing citizenship files quickly and efficiently.

For the citizenship process, you should always ask a company where they recommend you apply. It is important to understand that many companies will not share the towns with you until you’ve expressed a commitment to use their services. This is because they do not want to share this information, only for you to travel there and attempt to do everything on your own and cause a problem at the comune. This would ruin the process for everyone, as the comune could choose to stop processing files. We have heard of this happening on several occasions.

It can be tempting to apply in the hometown of your ancestors, but for sake of time it might not be the best choice. It’s also not a good idea to go blindly into a town and expect they know the Jure Sanguinis process. Many comuni have never processed a citizenship file and will be unable to assist you!

THE PROCESS

When applying in Italy, there is a standard procedure you must follow. Keep in mind, Italian government workers typically do not speak English. This process is not something you will be able to complete on your own if you are not fluent in Italian.

STEP ONE

You must establish residency with the Italian government. In order to do so, you must have a proper lease. You cannot establish residency using an Airbnb or hotel. The government will take a look at your lease, if everything is correct you will be able to move on to the next step.

You will obtain a codice fiscale if your lease is approved. This is similar to a social security number in the United States.

STEP TWO

Once you’ve established residency and obtained your codice fiscale, you will need to set up a meeting with the comune. During the meeting, the comune officer will take down your information and supply it to the local police.

The police will have 45 days to verify you are living at the address you’ve supplied. Once they verify you, you’re free to travel Italy! You should not leave the country until the process is completed.

STEP THREE

Once the police verify you, the comune officer will begin contacting Italian Consulates in the US. They must verify that nobody in your Italian line, other than the ancestor who naturalized, renounced their right to Italian citizenship. The comune officer will typically contact all Italian Consulates where your ancestors lived. Remember, the ancestor who became American must have done so after they gave birth to your next in line AND after July of 1912.

This part can be time consuming. Weeks can go by before the comune receives a response from the Italian Consulates.

STEP FOUR

The comune officer will process all of your documents. You will not get these documents back, they will remain at the comune once your file is completed.

STEP FIVE

You will be contacted by the comune to come in and sign your Italian citizenship documents. Once you sign these documents, you will officially be a recognized Italian citizen! You can immediately ask to order an Italian ID card from the comune officer, so come prepared to this meeting with ID headshots. Your ID card will typically be mailed to you within one week of ordering.

At this point, you can choose to create a passport appointment at an Italian passport office, or you can fly back to the US and request a passport from your local consulate. If you choose to fly home, you will need to register and be approved in A.I.R.E. before you can schedule a consulate passport appointment.